April 30th 2024.
Last month, the world was buzzing with the news of a record-breaking $US1.3 billion Powerball jackpot. And one of the lucky winners was Cheng “Charlie” Saephan, an immigrant from Laos who has been battling cancer for eight years. Just last week, he had another round of chemotherapy.
At a news conference held by the Oregon Lottery, Saephan, who lives in Portland with his wife Duanpen, shared that they will be splitting the prize evenly with their friend Laiza Chao, who had chipped in $US100 to buy a batch of tickets together. After taxes, they will be receiving a lump sum payment of $642 million.
Saephan expressed his gratitude for the unexpected win, saying that it will allow him to provide for his family and take care of his health. He even joked about finding a good doctor for himself. As a cancer patient, he had worried about how he would be able to spend all of the money and how long he would live.
It all started when Chao sent a photo of the tickets to Saephan, teasing that they were now billionaires. Little did they know, it would become a reality the next day when their numbers were drawn. The winning ticket was sold at a Plaid Pantry convenience store in Portland, ending a three-month dry spell without a winner.
However, before the Oregon Lottery could announce the identity of the winner, they had to go through a security and vetting process. According to state law, lottery players cannot remain anonymous, but winners have a year to claim their prize.
The jackpot has a cash value of $947 million before taxes if the winner chooses to take a lump sum instead of receiving annual payments over 30 years. And just like any other lottery prize, it is subject to federal and state taxes in Oregon.
This $1.9 billion jackpot is now the fourth-largest in Powerball history and the eighth-largest among all US jackpot games, according to the Oregon Lottery. The largest US lottery jackpot ever won was $3.1 billion in California in 2022.
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